Red Jacket

Patrick Hennessy visited this area on December 28, 2001 and took some great pictures! His uncle used to patrol at the ski area. Here's Patrick's writeup on the history of this club owned ski area in Eden:

Located off of Sisson Highway in Eden New York (outside Buffalo) Red Jacket started in 1935. It started as a group of guys who loved to ski. They used to climb up where the ski area is for years until they decided they would expand. They installed a rope tow that used to go up on the right side of the hill. A small lodge was built that was heated by a wood stove and a small ski patrol building was later added next to the lodge. In the late 60's Red Jacket faced an important decision; expand or fold due to competition. The members met and decided to expand with the addition of a Hall T-Bar. It was installed in 1970 and ran from the base to the top of the 350 hill on the left side. It was powered by a 50 horse power electric motor. From what my Uncle (Bill Pippine former ski patroller at Red Jacket) tells me, Red Jacket had a 2 phase power system to power the lift.

An overhead view of the area from Terraserver.
You can see the main slope and a few trails.

Members of the club paid dues of $100 per ski season per family. Guests were welcome and had to pay 10 for a night ticket and 15 dollars for all day skiing. Sadly in the early 90's the rising cost of insurance and lack of consistent snow cause financial trouble for the ski club. There was talk of installing snowmaking but the cost was to much for the club. In 1993 and 1994 Red Jacket had a hard time getting insurance and finally in 1995 Red Jacket close for good. The land is still owned by the same family that started the club in the 1930s. One of the family members turned the lodge into a small home. I was lucky and got a tour of it. Its all Post and Beam construction inside and looks a lot like it did when I skied there. They have no plans on reopening the ski area.

The base of the T-Bar has become run down. The roof over the lift motor has fallen down. The main trail has grown in somewhat. However the top of the hill is still very clear and the owners of the land are growing wheat there.

Patrick got some great shots of the area! Click on each thumbnail for a larger version.

T-bar base	Instructions for T-bar use	Closeup of T-bar base	The bullwheel
Looking up main slope	Side view of slope	Slope view	Looking down main slope
Hall T-bars!	Top of T-bar	Patrick's uncle Bill near a T-bar tower